The inter-NoC interface (INI) provides a means of connecting two NoC instances. An INI link represents a logical connection within the physical NoC that is resolved when the NoC compiler is called.
The INI does not represent or consume any of the physical resources of the NoC. Rather it represents a connection from a NoC master unit (NMUs) in one AXI NoC instance to one or more NoC slave units (NSUs) or DDRMCs in another instance.
An INI port can be an input or an output from an instance of the AXI NoC. An INI output port on one NoC instance can connect only to an INI input port on another. An INI input or output port appears in the connectivity matrix like any AXI input or output port, allowing connectivity from an AXI input (NMU) to an INI output, or from an INI input to an AXI output or DDRMC port.
The INI supports the following use cases:
- Connect one or more AXI masters to multiple, independent DDRMCs
In this use case, the AXI master is connected to an AXI NoC IP configured with one or more INI outputs. Each INI output is connected to another AXI NoC configured to include a DDRMC.
- Extend a NoC
connection across levels of the design hierarchy
In this use case, an AXI NoC in one level of hierarchy connects to an AXI NoC in another through INI ports at the hierarchy boundaries.